Google has just announced Google Chrome OS. From the post:

Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Later this year we will open-source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010.

With this move Google is clearly entering in the Microsoft space. But  in the digital convergence world, the boundaries are fuzzy and there is no “safe space” where to play. The concept of Plaform Envelopment is relevant here.

Google has already Android, the operating system originally designed for mobile phones. Android was now going upscale and being introduced in netbooks, the conflict with the Chrome OS is clear. But their approach is pragmatic, at the end people will decide what to use, the statement from the post:

Google Chrome OS is a new project, separate from Android. Android was designed from the beginning to work across a variety of devices from phones to set-top boxes to netbooks. Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the web, and is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems. While there are areas where Google Chrome OS and Android overlap, we believe choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google.

Interesting to see that like Android, the Chrome OS is released with its source code, a very different approach from Windows closed source policy. This reflects a different philosophy  and their very different business models.

The news in TechCrunch Google Drops A Nuclear Bomb On Microsoft. And It’s Made of Chrome, Google Chrome: Redefining The Operating System and in the NYT Google Plans a PC Operating System.